The present invention relates generally to lifters for mounting on refuse collection vehicles or on fixed or portable refuse collection stations, or for use in other settings.
Incorporated by reference herein are also (1) co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/731,946 by the inventors Ramiro Arrez and Carlos Arrez, filed Dec. 7, 2000, (2) Provisional Application (Ser. No. 60/271,860) by the same inventors which was filed on Feb. 27, 2001, entitled “Retractable Lifter for Refuse Container,” and related regular U.S. application Ser. No. 10/081,654, filed Feb. 22, 2002, (3) U.S. Provisional Application (Ser. No. 60/280,091) by the same inventors filed on Mar. 30, 2001, entitled “Damage-Resistant Refuse Receptacle Lifter,” and (4) U.S. Provisional Application (Ser. No. 60/280,092) by the same inventors filed on Mar. 30, 2001, entitled “Damage-Resistant Refuse Receptacle Lifter with Face Plate.”
It is now a well known practice to employ refuse container lifters for automatically lifting and dumping large residential refuse collection containers or carts. Such lifters are typically, although not exclusively, mounted on the rear of refuse collection trucks, adjacent to the refuse hopper. Although such refuse container lifters are available in a variety of shapes and configurations, there remains a continuing need for improved, more reliable and less costly lifters.
More particularly, there continues to be a need for lifters that can be mounted at various heights and still reliably engage and lift refuse collection containers or carts. For example there is no single standard height for refuse collection vehicles or stations, and mounting height of the lifter (above ground level) may differ from one installation to another. Further, collection routes often involve travel along alleys or roads that have depressions, pot-holes or shoulders that cause frequent and unpredictable variations in the height of the lifter above the road surfaces. Similarly, the height of the refuse collection container itself may vary according to road surface conditions or according to the manufacturer or model of collection container.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a lifter that functions well in dumping collection containers in some, if not all, of these circumstances, and it is an object of this present invention to provide such a lifter.
Accordingly, it is a further object of the present invention to provide such an improved lifter suitable for dumping refuse collection carts or containers, and which may be employed in rear loader, side loader, front loader, and other applications.